


The Lost Kingdom

by frostybuns (toyhouses)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Character Death, Historical Inaccuracy, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-08-28 21:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16731219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toyhouses/pseuds/frostybuns
Summary: Everyone knows the infamy of the beautiful fortune teller and how The Gift is passed down from daughter to daughter.  However, one year, something strange happens.  Fabled to occur once in a century, the fortune teller gives birth to a son who inherits The Gift.Kim Minseok grows up in the land of Nyo, known as the fortune teller's son.  Considered an oddity, Minseok is raised in a solitary and secluded life.  However, when his mother dies, he is suddenly the most sought after person in the Three Kingdoms.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story line has been running in my head for a while. Who knows... maybe this time I'll actually finish a series. Ha....ha...ha.... OTL
> 
> WARNING/SOMETHING TO NOTE: I chose not to tag any major Archive Warnings; however, please do note that there will be character deaths in this story as it continues. Yes, "deaths" with an 's'. So if you're trigger by character death or do not like character death, please do not read.

 

The wind rustles on the tops of the trees as the sky turns dark, then blood red.  People of the land are seen scurrying back into their homes, some even leaving their goods at their stalls, forgotten and exposed.

"Mother, why aren't we going to market?" a young girl asks, as her mother drags her along by the elbow.

"Come child.  Come quickly.  It's the blood moon.  A bad omen."

The young mother covers her daughter's face with a kerchief and risks a look up at the sky.  A looming structure covers half the moon, darkening the sky and reddening the clouds around it.  The woman shudders and fixes her grip on her child.  She would rather go hungry for one night than to risk being out on this ominous evening.

 

 

Outside the royal walls, the people of the land of Nyo are no different.  The marketplace is abandoned in the early afternoon, but in a corner room of the smaller west palace, there is a different kind of chaos.

"Bring the cloths and another pot of boiling water!" cries a midwife.

"She's close" warns the physician.  "Don't let anyone else into the room!"

A woman lies in the center of the heated room.  Sweat drips down her temples and her plaited hair is plastered to the sides of her face.  Her coloration is pale white as she bites down on the rough canvas cloth.  Her two hands have a deathly grip on the two ropes of cloth hanging from the ceiling.

"Push, Mistress!  You must push!"

"Arghhhh!!!" the woman cries out in anguish.  

This will be her first and only birth.  She wishes only for a healthy child for she has already seen what hardships lie ahead for her soon-to-be-born son.  The woman, though in a state of distress, is exquisitely beautiful.  If she were not a fortune teller of the Kim line, she could easily be the King's Queen or perhaps a second consort.  However, fated to be abandoned by her lover, the alluring fortune teller is of a long line of infamous female seers.  

With one last push, the baby cries out, taking its first breath of air.  The woman slumps backward, exhausted from labor and she closes her eyes, breathing heavily.

"How... how can this be?" comes the wavering voice of the midwife.  "The child... the child is..."

"A healthy young boy" the physician confirms.

"But the Royal Seers have always birthed daughters!" the midwife says in disbelief.  "How could a male child be..."

But the physician is old and the midwife young.  The physician has seen and heard many things in his long life.  Looking towards the mother, the physician confirms his suspicion that the mother has known the truth for a while now.  Though the physician had been assigned to manage her pregnancy from the beginning, something had been odd about the life lines that he could feel in the fortune teller's pulse.

"It's told that once every 100 years, a male Seer can be born of the Kim line.  A rare occurrence, yes.  But if the lore is true, he will be a great Seer.  Perhaps... greater than his mother."

A tear falls from the corner of the mother's eye as the midwife is awed into silence.  A historical moment for some, but the fortune teller feels a tremendous wave of sadness for her son.


	2. the prince of nyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prince is born.
> 
> note: "nyo" means "wind".

 

It is a warm spring morning when the first prince of Nyo is born.  There's a light, playful breeze that drifts in and out of the blossom trees outside the Queen's birthing chambers.  This, the Queen thinks, must be a sign of a kind hearted and happy child coming forth into the world.  Sitting silently next to the Queen is none other than Shuhwa, the Royal Fortune Teller.  Eyes downcast, the fortune teller mumbles under her breath, asking for good omens from the gods above and the spirits amongst them.  The midwives and the Royal Physicians look toward Shuhwa uncomfortably at best.  If it had been their choice, Shuhwa would not have been apart of this auspicious moment.  However, the Queen had been adamant.

"Shuhwa is dear friend before she is the Royal Seer and she _will_ be present at my side."

At the Queen's insistence, Shuhwa had been stationed at the Queen's bedside, praying for the safe arrival of the Prince-to-be.  The beautiful Seer paid no mind to the looks of disdain and horror aimed toward her.  Instead, her crimson cloak was neatly folded beside her.  Her delicate, snow white hands moved rhythmically in a kind of chorea that came from the heavens.  Her blush lips were the only shade of color on her pale face, but they were moving rapidly as if coaxing the prince into the world.  In the corner of the room, was another strange sight.  A child of four years sat oddly still, eyes twinkling and entranced at the sight of his mother.

Minseok, the Seer's infamous son, had been brought into the birthing chambers as well.  If the opposition to Shuhwa participating in the Prince's birth had been great, the concern about the addition of her son had been even greater.  

"It's bad luck having a growing child in the birthing chamber.  Especially one of _his_ lineage" the servants had whispered.

"He might be in the way, your Highness.  Surely one of the maids could look after him in the mean time?" suggested one of the midwives.

"To be sure, a birthing chamber is no place for a young boy" agreed the physicians.

But the Queen had smiled upon Minseok's cherub face.  Skin milky white with rosy cheeks and strangely alluring eyes, Minseok had captured the Queen's heart.

"He shall stay with his mother" the Queen had declared.  "And his mother shall stay by my side."

For as well-versed as the Queen was in the life of royalty, her pregnant state had made her feel that much more vulnerable.  After all, there was no telling who was on your side inside the walls of the palace.

 

 

 

When the Prince is finally born, the Queen takes one look into the Prince's face and laughs in relief.  The bawling expression of the infant prince is familiar to the Queen.  Though the Prince does not stop crying, the Queen sees the shadow of her father in the tiny face.

"He shall be named Sehun" the Queen tells the physician in charge.  "After my father.  He shall be Prince Oh Sehun of the land of Nyo."

One of the midwives hand the babe over to the Queen.  Kissing the thrashing infant's forehead, the Queen, much to everyone's horror, hands the child to Shuhwa.  

"Please, friend.  Give me a glimpse of my son's future."

Shuhwa holds Sehun in her hands, careful not to hold the infant to her own breast.  At half an arm's length, she holds the screaming baby in consideration, looking into the child's deep brown eyes.  It's a wonder that the child's eyes are already open and as she immerses herself in the future life of the child, Minseok too wobbles over quietly.  Minseok's eyes are much too bright and intent for a child of four and yet, Minseok too can be seen looking into the infant's eyes.  It's the first time Minseok has seen a child other than himself.

"The prince will be known to the future generations as a great King.  His rule will extend over a kingdom that is larger than the kingdom he knows now" Shuhwa announces.  She does not say all she has seen; there will be other times for that.  For now, she tells the mother of the Prince the happy news.

Tears of joy and happiness stream down the exhausted Queen's face.

"Thank you, old friend.  Thank you."

The infant prince is laid next to his mother once again.  But before the Queen closes her eyes for a rest, she sees the infant's hand rise up.  The Prince's tiny fingers enclose around a small pudgy hand.  The servants gasp as the infant prince grips Minseok's finger.  And as Minseok giggles in delight, the infant prince shudders a sigh that racks his whole frame.  It's a sigh of relief and everyone gazes in awe as the infant prince finally stops crying.


	3. winters in nyo

Even in the land of Nyo, winter chills the rooftops and brings out the thicker padded garb of the people.  Inside the palace walls is no exception.  Today, morning has brought a fine covering of ice that crystallizes the trees and shrubbery.  Out on the square, small white clouds represent voices in a physical albeit ethereal form.  The visible puffs of air enshrouds the mouth of the speaker.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, please!  Where are you?"

"Prince Sehun, do not forget the Queen's ire when you missed your last lesson!"

The man-servants and palace maidens rush around the gardens in search of the ten year old prince.  The prince has grown into a healthy, bubbly boy as Shuhwa had predicted.  The omens of the spring breeze on his birth day did not lie.  However, an odd thing had happened as the prince was growing up.  The closeness Prince Sehun had with the Seer's son Minseok, was now common knowledge to those close to Prince Sehun.  The friendship was not encouraged and had blossomed in a strange, almost magical way.  As soon as Prince Sehun had learned to walk on his own, he had marched straight to Minseok's quarters.  Still not completely, steady, the young Prince had firmly planed himself in the arms of a startled Minseok.  The maidens that had followed Prince Sehun told the tale that the smile Prince Sehun had had on his face upon meeting the Seer's son, was as radiant as the sun.  Since then, the two have been almost inseparable with the Prince, rather than Minseok, earnestly seeking the other's company.

Even now, as the servants rush around the grounds, Prince Sehun giggles from his hiding place under the Minseok's thick winter bedding.  The door, remaining open from Sehun's hasty entrance, is ajar and outside, Minseok can see the square and the servants in frantic search.  Soon, Minseok knows that the servants will come here to the West Building.

Quickly, Minseok crosses the room to close the door.  Minseok himself doesn't quite mind the refreshing winter breeze, but for the sake of the Prince, he slides the door tight.  The search party will eventually find the Prince, but for now...

"Your Highness" Minseok calls, gingerly lifting the covers to peek under.

Sehun giggles once more and pulls on Minseok's arm.

"Come underneath, hyung.  You too.  Let's hide here.  It's as cold as the Seol mountains out there!"

Minseok sighs, but does as he's asked.  After all, it's not the first time this has happened.  Minseok himself is late to his calligraphy lessons, but unlike Sehun, there's not as many people to scold him for missing a class.  

Once Minseok is under the covers, Sehun presses his body close to Minseok's.  The young Prince is surprisingly warm even in the cold winter day.  Worried, Minseok brings a hand to Sehun's forehead.  At this gesture, Sehun closes his eyes and smiles; he likes the attention and the touch from Minseok.  When Minseok doesn't detect a fever, he tilts his head in confusion.

"There's no fever..." Minseok mumbles to himself.  "But why is His Highness so warm?"

"I told you to not call me that when we're alone together" pouts Sehun.  "Call me by my name, like you usually do."

Sehun stares intently and sternly into Minseok's face, but that's not why Minseok acquiesces. 

"Alright, Sehun-ah" Minseok gives in with an indulgent smile.  "Alright.  I'm just worried you're sick."

Sehun gives a satisfied snort and smile in return, then adds, "I'm not sick, you know.  I'm getting hot because you're here with me."

"..."

At that, Minseok unconsciously goes red in the ears.  Sehun himself, doesn't seem to be fazed and busies himself with tucking the ends of the bedding around their bodies.  Minseok quietly observes Sehun and how he presses them closer and closer so that none of their body parts are giving them away by sticking out of the blanket.  Once satisfied, Sehun nestles into Minseok's side.  The smaller boy gives a content sigh as he lies down on the pillow and pulls Minseok down with him.

"Hyung, let's go back to sleep" Sehun requests with a small yawn.  "I think I sleep best when I'm touching you.  Skin to skin."

This time, Minseok's cheeks redden as Sehun buries his nose into the crook of Minseok's neck.  This boy, four years younger than Minseok, often puzzles Minseok.  At times, Sehun seems too mature for his age and at times, he seems like the baby Minseok has always known him as.   It's at moments like these, even when Minseok is bigger in bodily size, that he feels like Sehun could really be a friend.  An ally.  Someone to lean on in troubled times.  But as soon as he feels the edges of his heart melt a little, Minseok suddenly remembers his mother's warning.

 

_'Ice will be the death of you.  Fire will eat up your heart.  And Wind will fail you.'_

 

Minseok closes his eyes.  When his mother's eyes turned red like it did that night, her fortunes were always scarily accurate.  Minseok tries to put it from his mind as he slowly falls asleep to the warmth of the boy beside him.  After all, how could this adorable young prince harm him?

 

 

 

In about half an hour, the servants eventually knock on Minseok's door.  Searching Minseok's room last is the servants' way of doting on a young prince who considered arithmetic lessons with old scholar Hol as torture.  Minseok is already awake when the servants enter to gently carry Sehun away.  And as Minseok watches a sleeping Sehun disappear on the back of a man servant, Minseok wonders if his interpretation of his mother's omen has any truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Seol" means "ice".


	4. cloudy omens

A letter, enshrouded in scarlet fabric, arrives from the Land of Tae one late night.  The messenger is exhausted from making the three day trip without stopping once, but his duty is of the utmost importance.  Once the letter reaches the hands of the King, the King quickly reads the correspondence and furrows his brow in concern.

"What is it my King?"  The Queen sits intimately beside the King of Nyo.  She had been getting ready to retire with the King, but news of the letter had come suddenly.

"It is from Counselor Sol" the King says somberly.  "There is talks of a coup in the Land of Tae."

The Queen stops a gasp with her hand.  This is no light news.  The Land of Tae was a close ally to the Land of Nyo.  If there was to be an uprising, it would mean that relations between the two kingdoms would also falter.

"It says here that because Counselor Sol has ties with the military, he has learned of this information before anyone else.  He has informed the King of Tae, but Counselor Sol is also in danger."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes, my Queen.  It means that the Yeolgoon, the King's step brother is heading the revolt."

The main candles in the room flicker as the night wind catches on the door frame and rushes in.  The Queen shudders; to her, it is a bad omen.  The King, however, is not so superstitious.  Instead, the King wraps a reassuring arm around the Queen's smaller frame.

"We will help Taeyeol as much as we can.  After all, we are close friends."

The King speaks fondly of the King of Tae.  He briefly remembers how they had been close as young boys.  He remembers now, that they both have families to protect as well as a kingdom full of citizens.  His mind touches in the fact that the King of Tae has a son just a few years older than Sehun.  The Queen leans in to her husband's touch and presses her lips to his cheek.

"Tomorrow, I will ask Shuhwa for an omen about this."

The King frowns lightly in concern.  

"We must tell no one about the Land of Tae until our plans our set in motion."

But the Queen is firm.

"This is what I must do.  Besides, Shuhwa is my closest friend and ally.  If there is a betrayal, it shall not be from our Royal Seer."

 

 

 

 

Before the sun is full risen, the King is secluded in meetings with his most trusted men.  The Queen too prepares herself for the coming day.  She must prepare provisions for the event of an upcoming war.  She must reassign the servants of the palace to account for any lost manpower they may be faced with.  War may be the worst possible outcome, however, the land of Nyo must be ready.

It is the time of year when winter melts into spring and the Queen remembers that it is eleven years ago today that Prince Sehun had been born into the world.  She hopes that Sehun won't need to be thrust into the wagings of war at such a young age.  The sun starts to peek through the clouds as the Queen makes her way with her train of servants to the West Hall.  It's not a short trip from the Inner Court to the Outer Court of the palace.  On the way, the Queen's mind whirls with ideas and tasks.  Utmost on her mind is the well-being of her family.  But when the Queen arrives at the gate leading to the Outer Court, she sees the worried faces and scurrying of the maid servants.  The air is awfully still and the whole of the West Hall is silent.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Queen asks the court lady heading her train.

Instead of fear, there is determination reflected in her eyes.  Her step quickens as the court maiden disappears to find the answer to the Queen's question.  It is unfortunate that her curiosity is soon sated.  For before she reaches the steps of the Royal Seer's chambers, she hears it - the cries of a boy.  The Queen's mind flashes images of Minseok, the Seer's now fifteen year old son.

"The Queen has arrived!" the door keeper announces.

As per custom, an array of servants come out to greet her and with them is Minseok, red-eyed and inconsolable.  The Queen's eyes meet Minseok's and the deep heart-break in Minseok's eyes breaks a part of the Queen's heart.  The empathy is so greatly felt that the Queen rushes over to the young boy, forgetting her lifelong royal etiquette.

"Your Highness!" the court ladies shout in horror.  

But to the Queen, all she sees is her closest friend's child in pain.  She quickly envelops the child in her arms and Minseok bursts into tears once again.  

"Child... where is Shuhwa?  Why do you cry so?"

"Your Highness" comes a calm voice.  "The Royal Seer is dead."

Minseok crumbles to his feet as the Queen's breath stops in her throat.  Her face drains of color and her surroundings fade into silence.  In her times of trouble, Shuhwa had always been by her side like a silent but dependable pillar and those memories flicker through the Queen's mind in an impossible speed.  She doesn't even know it as tears wet her cheeks.  Though Shuhwa had been with the Queen in times of trouble, she had not been able to be there for her friend.  

From then, time goes by both in slow motion as well as speed by.  The court maidens rush beside her and the rustle of their skirts echos loud in her ear.  However, Minseok shrinks into the ground in slow motion, becoming smaller and smaller as the ground around him grows darker with tears.  She's not sure how the Prince knows or when the Prince has arrived, but she hears the court maidens exclaim in surprise when Sehun runs to Minseok's side.  The Queen is not sure if Sehun knows what's going on or if he's crying because Minseok is crying.  But Sehun's body racks with sobs as his small arms try to encircle Minseok's larger body.

A royal physician comes slowly out from the Seer's chambers, hanging his head.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness" the physician apologizes.  "At the Seer's insistence, we did not report her illness.  But unfortunately, the Seer has..."

Before the Queen hears the end of the sentence, she rushes inside.  The chambers are dark and cold as if the space knows of its owner's departure.  When she reaches Shuhwa's bed chambers, her feet slow and her hands start to shake.  Since spring is almost here, the breeze is warm even in the early morning.  The Queen wonders if it is the universe's way of celebrating the fact that Shuhwa has joined the other world now.

Finally, she slides the inner door open.  There, on stark white bedding lies Shuhwa.  Shuhwa's skin is impossibly pale and her body impossibly still.  In her mind, the Queen knows that the body lying there is Shuhwa; however, it does not seem like her close friend at all.  Behind the Queen, there's a soft sound and Minseok comes near the inner room.

"Prince Sehun, please don't look" comes Minseok's soft whisper.

"No!  I'm coming with you!"

"You mustn't Sehun!" Minseok panics.

But there's the rushed sliding of the door opening and a pattering of feet as Sehun drags Minseok by the hand.  The Queen looks around and sees the small Prince leading the older boy to his mother.

"You can say goodbye now" Sehun tells Minseok tearfully.  "Now there's no scary healer or servants crowding her.  You can say goodbye properly."

Sehun looks up at the Queen.  "Right, mother?"

Behind a watery smile, the Queen nods.  "Yes, Minseok.  She would have wanted that."

The Queen mourns one step away as she watches the two young boys holding each other.  Minseok is on bent knee next to his mother's side, holding his mother's hand.  His last whispers to his mother's departing soul are inaudible.  Even so, sitting next to Minseok, Sehun sits next to Minseok, rubbing his back with Sehun's small hand.  As he does, Sehun nods slowly as if understanding.  It's an odd sight, the younger boy consoling the older boy.  There's something oddly mature about Sehun's movements.

The Queen blinks the tears from her eyes and when she looks at the two boys again, there's a vision that wavers briefly in the air.  A transparent vision of a much older and taller Sehun overlaps with Sehun's now smaller form.  The older Prince Sehun is broad shouldered and stands with his back regally straight.  There's a deeply ardent look in his eye as he watches over Minseok's form.  But as suddenly as the vision had appeared, it vaporizes into thin air.  It puzzles the Queen but a grateful smile plays on her lips - somewhere in her heart she knows that this vision is a parting gift from her friend.

 

 

 

 

Though grieved by the loss of her friend, the Queen cannot afford to lose time.  From the tired shadows under the King's eyes and the weary look on the Councilmen's faces, the Queen doesn't need an omen to tell that a war is coming.  With a gaunt face, the King expresses his regret at not being able to be with the Queen at such a sad time.  The Queen shakes her head, shaking the locks of dark ebony hair that only come loose when the couple is alone together.

"It is my greed that brings me to take charge of Shuhwa's funeral rites" the Queen admits.  "I should be aiding you... preparing the palace and..."

The King grasps her two slender hands with a soft sigh and a gentle shake of his head.

"No, my Queen.  Please, do what you think is right in the eyes of your soul."  The King looks deep into the Queen's eyes.  "Send your beloved friend off into the Other World properly.  I..."

The King looks away for a moment, gazing into the distance.  He is thinking of his own childhood friend in the Land of Tae.

"I may never get to act as a proper friend, but you should do all you can" the King finishes.

 

 

Shuhwa's body is preserved by other Seers who have gathered from various parts of the world.  Having been famed amongst those with The Gift, Shuhwa had been very loved, even from afar.  The other fortune tellers gather around Shuhwa's body, chanting and praying so that her soul would be able to leave peacefully.

A Seer maiden from the far north approaches the Queen with a somber face. 

"Mistress Shuhwa's soul is troubled for leaving this world so quickly" she tells the Queen.  "I believe it's...tied to her son."

They both look toward the corner of Shuhwa's room, where Minseok sits.  His sunken eyes and thin frame look so pitiful that they both let out an involuntary sigh.

"It is the fourth night*.  Shuhwa must be washed and her body prepared tomorrow night."

The Queen nods, adding, "I have prepared her favorite haegum* and other cotton cloths.  I will bring them tomorrow at sunrise."

The maiden bows before shuffling away.

The Queen looks upon Minseok, heart aching with unsaid words of comfort.  But the night is young and the Queen must proceed with her duties.  She forces herself to look away, whisking away with her train of court maidens.  She brushes a tear from her cheek.  She must be brave for Minseok.  She must be brave for her family.  And she must be brave for her Kingdom.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *There are various steps in the traditional Korean burial rites; they are simplified in this story.
> 
> **"Tae" means sun/fire.
> 
> Also, if you haven't realized already... the plot build is a bit slow in this fic. ^^;; So, I've tried to make the chapters longer. Thank you to those of you reading this!


	5. catastrophes come in threes

Far away, in the Land of Tae, the streets are almost deserted.  Those that can afford it, have moved out of the Kingdom of Tae upon hearing the rumors of the coup.  Others are now too frightened to roam the dangerous streets.  Not only is it a scary time for the royals, it is a scary time for the citizens.  Due to the concentration of matters inside the palace walls, the crime outside the palace walls have risen.  Those backstreet vagabonds and lowlife thieves used to skulking in the shadows were now holding their heads high and prowling the streets.  There is no enforcement on the streets as all royal personnel are busy with internal matters.

In the Inner Court, the atmosphere is equally extreme.  Not only is the Queen bedridden, the King refuses counsel.

"Please, Your Highness" the councilors cry out in the royal court.  "You must take precautions.  You must listen to your advisers!"

"You mean to tell me that my own beloved brother is plotting my death!" the King shouts angrily.  "I've even received word from the King of Nyo.  Must I be pitied by my bosom friend?!  How am I able to hold my head up high with these offending rumors even reaching Nyo?!"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger.  We only want what is best for you!"

But the pleas of the Council do not resound genuine to the King's ears.  He cannot come to believe that his own brother would wish him any ill - not after what they had been through together.  At a young age, they had seen the incessant fights for the throne between their uncles and father.  Surely, Yeolgoon would not want a repeat of history?  Surely, Yeolgoon would never think to harm his own brother, the King?

"Ah yes" the King spits sarcastically.  "I am sure that the Council has only _my_ best interests in mind.  Nevermind the kingdom or the citizens!"

"General Yeolgoon is a figurehead for the military forces, Your Highness.  You place too much trust on a man who harbors ambitions for the throne!"

"Insolence!  How dare you try and break the trust between two brothers?!  Be gone with you all!  This court... is over."

The Councilmen shuffle out of the hall with their heads to their chests.  Some have already given their loyalty to General Yeolgoon, knowing that the King would never retaliate.  Some are loyal to the King but have been disappointed again and again at the blind eye the King turns to his own brother.

After the men leave, the King is left alone on the throne.  His heart is heavy.  He closes his eyes with a deep sigh that resounds from the bottom of his stomach.  No matter what he says, he is no fool.  No matter how much he loves his brother, he cannot pretend to not see when the armed forces suddenly find fault only with the families that have allied with the King.  No matter how much he tries, the King cannot turn a blind eye to the lustful glances that Yeolgoon gives his Queen.

Taeyeol reaches into his robe and pulls out the letter from the Land of Nyo.  His bosom friend, Sejun, had carefully worded the correspondence.  Taeyeol is not able to oversee the brotherly affection that emanates from the letter.  Perhaps it's an affection that reaches deeper than that of his own blood brothter.  King Taeyeol knows that Sejun has planned this carefully to give as much support as he can without affecting his own Kingdom.  King Taeyeol's thoughts reach Nyo's Queen and their son, Sehun.  He remembers seeing the boy in his brief visit to Nyo, not long after Sehun had been born.  The King's thoughts naturally flow to his own son, Chanyeol.  

The thirteen year old boy was now old enough to live in the Prince's palace, removed from the Inner Court.  But when the Queen had fallen sick, Chanyeol had come to stay in the chambers of the Inner Court once again.  If there was anyone the King loved more than his brother, it was Chanyeol.  But what was the best thing for Chanyeol?  King Taeyeol grips the bridge of his nose.  He had been experiencing head splitting migraines for over a month now.  By Yeolgoon's favor, a natural healer from a far off land had drawn up herbal medicine for this very ailment and yet...

What if the councilmen were right?  What if Yeolgoon was to overthrow him?  What if Yeolgoon was slowly poisoning him?  What if he would hurt Chanyeol?

"Ah..." another jolt of pain courses through the King's head.

He rises from the throne, eager to lie back down in his bed chambers.  But as he takes a step, he falters.  Suddenly, Chanyeol is by his side.

"Father, are you alright?  You look pale."

Chanyeol's large, worried eyes fill the King's vision and Taeyeol thinks, 'Ah, only if my son were to live a healthy and happy life.'

"I'm alright, Son" the King replies.  "Just a bit tired.  Go.  Help your mother."

Chanyeol withdraws his hand around the King's waist.  His father has grown steadily thinner and thinner.  And though it is his mother that seems unable to be rid of her body-racking cough, his father looks more sickly in physical form.  Chanyeol sends a worried look as his father's back grows smaller and smaller as he disappears down the hall.  The young Prince of Tae clenches his fists.  He hates it that he cannot help in any way.  He doesn't know the ways of healers.  He has never been interested in politics.  He isn't a great fighter.  He hangs his head as he sighs deeply, feeling the weight of incompetence on his shoulders.

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the Land of Nyo, King Sejun reads King Taeyeol's reply with great consternation.  The letter outlines that there is no need for war provisions as the rumors of Yeolgoon's malicious intent is baseless.  Though not explicitly stated, the King can feel the immense weariness that comes from Taeyeol's brush strokes.

The Queen squeezes the King's arm.

"Isn't this good news, My King?" the Queen asks nervously.  "If there is no war..."

"My Queen..."

That there's another letter from Taeyeol's Council goes unsaid.  That there are rumors reaching even the streets of Nyo of the madness of Tae's King goes unspoken.  For now, the preparations have been officially stopped.  As long as the official stance of the Land of Tae was that there was no danger, there was no need for the Land of Nyo to respond with war preparations.

"At least... at least, tonight, you will be able to sleep at a reasonable hour, my King" says the Queen gently.  "For now, there will be no nightly meetings."

"No" agrees the King.  "Not for now."

They both retire to bed at an early hour.  They are both exhausted, not only from their dealings with the Land of Tae.  However, both have a lot on their minds and fail to have  a restful sleep.  The King rises early the next day, even before the sun rises and begins his duties.  The Queen sleeps a little longer, but rises in a panic to the hysterical voice of one of the court maidens.

"Your Highness!  Your Highness!"

"Who is making such a hubbub in the morning!?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness!  But the Prince won't listen to anyone but you!  He won't leave the odd boy's side.  Prince Sehun, he..."

 

The Queen is quick to dress, following the court maidens out to where Prince Sehun is.  From what the Queen can understand, there is something terribly wrong with Minseok.  Seeing this, the servants had tried to take Sehun away, but Sehun had refused to leave Minseok's side.  The Queen walks briskly as running is decidedly not allowed as a member of royalty.  However, her step is quicker than ever and her hands fist her heavy and abundant skirts so that they don't get in the way of her feet.

When the Queen's arrival is announced, the servants are too scared to even draw close to the late Seer's chambers.  The other visiting shamans, though not scared off, are at a loss as well.

"We've not had to deal with this kind of... happening before" explains one Seer from the South.  "The Kim daughters were famous for their Gift, passed along the female line.  However, none of us have lived long enough to see a male Kim with The Gift.  It seems as though, as his mother's spirit passes on, The Gift is slowly filling the son's body as its vessel."

The Queen finds it hard not to stare as Minseok lies in his room, back arched and eyes rolled back.  His eyes are wide as if in shock, but there are no pupils that fill the whites of his eyes.  Minseok heaves as though he is trying to breath in an airless room.  Next to him, shedding soundless tears, is Sehun.  Sehun barely registers his mother's arrival.

"Hyung!  Hyung!  What's wrong?  Wake up!" Sehun cries, holding Minseok's slack hand.

And just as quickly as it had happened, Minseok stills.  His body lies back on the bedding, peaceful.  And his eyelids close as if in a dreamless slumber.  A breath from the depths of his body escapes his lips.  And because it seems as if the worst of his fit is over, the Queen ushers the others out of Minseok's small room.

"Give him some time to rest" the Queen orders.

When the Queen turns around, she sees Sehun pressing his lips to Minseok's cheek.

"Minseok hyung" Sehun whispers.  "Please wake up."

 

 

There are two people that Sehun fears the most.  If it is his mother's or Minseok's words, Sehun will not disobey.  But no matter how much the Queen begs, no matter how much the Queen scolds and threatens, Sehun refuses to leave Minseok's side.

"I admit defeat" the Queen tells the servants wearily as she closes Minseok's door behind her.  "Let the Prince be."

Outside the inner rooms, Shuhwa's wooden coffin lies in the center of the main room.  The other Seers and shamans who remain sit around the coffin.  They too seem tired and their sunken faces tell of the hardships of the funeral rites of the Seer.  Shuhwa's robe has been fluttered in the wind on the rooftop, signaling the reapers.  Rice and gold coins line her coffin as do cotton linens and her favorite musical instrument.  Her journey to the underworld is well prepared for.

"All of you have worked hard.  Shuhwa would have appreciated this very much."

They bow their heads to the Queen.  The Queen too sits, a ways off, to spend time with her departing friend.  And while the Queen is praying she can't help but overhear the conversations of the Seers.

"It is a long drawn out process, yes?" one of shamans ask.  "The passing of The Gift."

"It is more so since it is a son, no doubt.  I've heard that the pain is more unbearable for a male descendant."

"How long?"

"It should be no more than three days, but..."

"Yes, Mistress Shuhwa's spirit is stubborn.  As long as she remains in her worldly body, her spirit is not fully passed on."

"Then?"

"Yes, then the passing of The Gift will be as long and drawn out as the passing of his mother's spirit."

"Poor boy."

"Yes.  I'm sure Mistress Shuhwa did not have ample time to train her son.  He will be lost for a while."

"And there's nothing we can do to help."

"No.  Nothing.  For we are not of the lineage.  No."

"The Prince though..."

"Shh... the Queen shall hear!"

"But the aura of the Prince is quite calming, yes?"

"Yes, he has the aura of a spring breeze."

"Yes, though it will be hard for the young Prince... his presence will at least give some peace to the Seer's son."

 

 

 

 

 Though somewhat worried for her son, the Queen is reassured.  If Sehun can provide a small help to Minseok, - though it cannot be as much help as Shuhwa was to the Queen - the Queen is satisfied.  She orders meals to be delivered to Sehun in Minseok's room.  And she orders them not to be disturbed.  

For a while, everything remains still and stagnant.  There seems like time to turn a breath.  But there is a saying that Shuhwa always said and it comes to the Queen's mind now.  ' _Catastrophes always come in threes_.'  And the Queen has never doubted her friend.

This time, it's a convoy from the north, from the mountainous Land of Seol.  A grim looking band of men arrive on dark, ominous boats and request an audience with the King of Nyo.  The Queen too sits in, nervous and on edge.

"We have come to relay a message and request from the King of Seol" says the leader of the group.

"Proceed" the King allows.

"The King of Seol has heard about the passing of your Royal Seer.  He sends his royal condolences."

The Queen frowns deeply.

"He has had signs interpreted from his own wizards and shamans that the Seer's abilities have been inherited by her offspring" the man continues.  "The King requests that the offspring of the Seer be sent to him as a gift."

"A gift?!" the Queen shouts in anger.

"My Queen" the King calls out gently.  In a more cold tone, he address the foreign group, "And what is the occasion of this request?  Surely the King of Seol is not so insolent as to request a gift and have nothing to offer in return?"

The group of men sneer.  "We offer news from the west.  From the Land of Tae.  The King of Tae is dead.  The King of Seol offers peaceable relations with the Land of Nyo for the price of the deceased Seer's child.  To be delivered with us in a week's time."

The King's expression grows dark and the Queen clutches her chest.  The King of Tae.  Dead!

"How do we know this is true?" the King returns.  "The Seer was a close person to the royal family and her child will not be treated as a trinket to be given away."

The man shrugs.  "The King of Seol gives you a week's time to weigh your decision.  It will bode well to send the fastest messenger to the Land of Tae if you would like to see if it is true or not."

"Leave us" the Queen commands.

The men bow half-heartedly before leaving the throne room.  They retreat back to their boats to wait for an answer.  Already they are itching to get back to their own land as the land here is too warm for their comfort.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's slow goin' but don't worry, we'll get there. ^^;;;


	6. [intermission] innocent desires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a Sehun/Xiumin side story + a little Suho :)  
> The story takes place before Minseok's mother falls ill.

It's not rare that Sehun runs away from his lessons.  But now that they are older, Sehun finds that Minseok is, more often than not, away from his room.  Minseok himself is busy - busy helping his mother, busy with lessons, and busy reading in the royal library.  Sehun himself knows for a fact that there is a student scholar that also frequents the library - a scholar named Kim Junmyeon.  Sehun also knows that Minseok and Junmyeon are becoming fast friends, much to his displeasure.

So, it's to Sehun's surprise one day, when he runs away to hide in Minseok's room, to find Minseok there in the middle of the day.  Sehun's face breaks out into a smile but soon, he sees the other person in the room.

"Oh!  So this is the famous Prince Sehun!" exclaims Junmyeon, upon seeing the young prince run into the room.

Sehun frowns.  He knows of Junmyeon because Minseok has pointed Junmyeon out to him several times, but this is the first time meeting face to face.

"Sehun-ah, are you hiding from Scholar Hol again?" asks Minseok.

Minseok's face looks stern and disappointed and this makes Sehun more than a little miffed.  After all, Minseok himself is here playing with student scholar Junmyeon, isn't he?  If Minseok should play with anyone, it should be him.

Sehun turns his head haughtily.  "It is none of your business."

"Ah, missing lessons once in a while isn't so bad, is it?" says Junmyeon good-naturedly.  He bumps Sehun lightly with his elbow, looking toward asking for confirmation.

Sehun contemplates calling for the palace guards to cut off this young man's head as Sehun brushes off his arm, where Junmyeon had bumped.

"Well... maybe once in a while is alright, but..." Minseok trails off.

It's the fact that Minseok acquiesces to Junmyeon that makes Sehun even more upset.

 

 

 

After Junmyeon leaves, Minseok starts to tidy up his room.  They had been discussing some historical documents they had found in the archives.  It had been very interesting because they had been documents sent back and forth by the earlier Kings of the Three Kingdoms.  There was something there that puzzled them, something about a different Kingdom that was never mentioned before in any other document.  However, Minseok guessed that the topic had been a little dry for Sehun.  Junmyeon and Minseok had been in animated talks, leaving Sehun to seethe in the corner.  Sehun had remained in his corner of the room, sulking until Junmyeon had left.

"Why were you in your room alone with student scholar Junmyeon?" Sehun demands, arms crossed over his chest.  He's finally out from his corner.

Minseok turns around with his brows raised.

"Isn't that none of your business, young Prince?" Minseok half-teases, borrowing the earlier words of the Prince.

"It's Sehun!" exclaims the Prince.

"Hmm?"

"I told you to call me Sehun when we're alone!"

Suddenly, everything is so unfair.  It's unfair that Minseok should meet people other than Sehun.  It's unfair that Minseok is too busy to play with Sehun.  And it's unfair that Minseok seems so unfazed when Sehun had missed him so so _so_ much.

At the tears threatening to fall from Sehun's eyes, Minseok lets out a sigh and allows a small smile, putting down the book in his hands.  Little did Sehun know, Minseok had been chastised by the scholars for being so lenient with Sehun.  ("Don't you know that your coddling will only ruin the personality of our future King?!")  Though he knew that Sehun was a good boy despite his mischievous deeds, Minseok didn't want people to think less of Sehun.  So perhaps, Minseok had been a little tough on Sehun these past few weeks.

It's at times like these that Minseok is reminded again that Sehun is only eleven years of age.

As if reading Minseok's thoughts, Sehun says, "I turn twelve next month you know."

"Yes, Your Highness, I do know."

The Prince sports puffed out cheeks at Minseok's reply and Minseok has to hold in the resulting laughter.

"I mean, yes, I do know Sehun-ah" Minseok corrects himself.

Cold looking eyes, even at that age, turn into half moons as Prince Sehun smiles.  Thin arms wrap around Minseok's body, eventually pulling Minseok down onto the floor.

"Come on, Hyung.  Let's take a nap!"

"It's only a little after noon, Sehun-ah."

"After lunch is the best time.  Come on" Sehun insists, tugging.  

The bedding isn't even laid out properly, but Sehun kicks the soft mats haphazardly so that the two boys make it onto padding instead of hard floor.  As always, Sehun nestles into Minseok's chest.  Sehun lets out a content sigh.

"Ah, this is the best" Sehun murmurs.  "Hyung is the best."

The embroidered silk of the Prince's garb rustles as Sehun squirms to find a perfect position.  It's only when Minseok hears the rhythmical breathing of slumber that he allows himself to fall asleep next to the warm body of the Prince.  When Minseok's own breathing falls steady, the younger boy opens his eyes.  He hasn't been sleeping at all, only pretending.  But now, as Minseok sleeps peacefully, Sehun is happy to stare at the older boy's face all he wants.  He traces Minseok's handsome brow with his eyes.  Next is Minseok's nose line and the curves of his cheeks.  Sehun suppresses a giggle when Minsesok mutters something indecipherable in his sleep, but soon, Sehun's pupils unconsciously dilate at the sight of Minseok's pink lips.

There's something alluring about those light pink lips that seem to be plumper than Sehun's own.  The Prince swallows involuntarily.  He knows he shouldn't but... it's not the first time he has given into his desires.  Sehun closes his eyes after making sure that Minseok is still firmly asleep.  Gently and carefully, Sehun presses his lips to Minseok's.  It's an innocent kiss, pressed as lightly as a butterfly's wings on the skin of an angel.  But when Sehun leans back, his eyes grow dark and he wonders why that, as each day passes, he can't help but feel a thirst for more and more.

 


	7. a shift in the wind

White flurries cover the mountain tops and harsh winds chill the shore.  The Land of Seol had never been a land where seasonal changes were noticeable.  Instead of one broad city, the Land of Seol is divided into hundreds of tiny villages where families find solace in the small nooks and crannies of the mountain valleys.  The palace is situated at the peak of the tallest mountain.  An intimidatingly high stone wall encircles the massive palace grounds, causing the people of Seol to think the King and the royals as an even further and higher entity.  Just above the edge of the wall, one can see the top of the highest tower inside the royal palace.

"What news of the convoy to Nyo?"

A hefty man wrapped in layers of dirty fur bows.  His beard and brow are frosted with the outside snowfall.  His face is chapped red from the journey.  He is of one of the group of men traveling from Nyo.

"They have conceded My Liege, except..."

The King raises his brow.  A dangerous look replaces the leisurely one from before.  "Except?" he growls.

The large messenger gulps in nervousness, despite being twice as large in girth as the King.  He must word his tale just right or else it will be his own head.

"The Queen of Nyo is very... _attached_ to the late Seer's offspring.  They want to wait one year, until the child is an adult, to release him,  my Liege."

"An adult, you say..." the King muses. 

He thinks back to his consultation with his own shamans.  The wizards at his disposal had foreseen that the child would be of great value to him.  Not only would the child be a powerful Seer, the child of this generation would be a talisman in its own right - a human talisman.

"Yes, my Liege.  The child is fifteen.  Less than one more year will bring him to his sixteenth year.  The Queen asks that she be able to raise him like her own son until he is of age."

"Son?!" the King starts, sitting up in his seat.  The others in the throne room flinch.  "A son?!  Aren't the Kim Seers a lineage of females?"

"My Liege, if you please..." comes a reedy voice from next to the throne.  It is Byuhsool, one of the shamans in the King's advisory line.

The King turns his eyes toward Byuhsool, allowing him to speak.

"This generation of his lineage is powerful for the fact that he is a male Seer, my Liege.  A rare occurrence that is said to only fall every hundred years."

"But the prophesy... am I to take this _male_ child into my chambers?" the King returns.

Byuhsool's thin, cracked lips form into a sneering smile.  "Yes, my Liege.  There are ways to take the virginity of males as well.  I am told, though a male, the child is a beauty to behold."

"Hmmm..." the King slumps back into the throne, fingering the collar of his brocade tunic.  "I have no qualms about gender" he laughs.  "But a beauty, you say..."

The King wets his lips slowly with his tongue.

"I don't know if I have the patience, but... for now, I will allow it."

"My Liege?" the messenger asks.

"Tell the King and Queen of Nyo that I will expect my gift in exactly one year's time" the King tells him, the corners of his lips curling in an ominous way.   He leans forward in the chair of the throne, eyes dangerously bright.   "Tell them, that I will be eagerly waiting."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the impending change of seasons, the wind is relentless against the wooden doors of the many houses in the land of Tae.  Built for a warm climate and soft breezes, the roaring winds rattle the doors of even the palace.  The palace servants shiver, not from the cold, but from fear.  The wind, it seems, is an omen of change.  In this case, it is a change for the worse.

It had happened one still, balmy night.  The full moon's light had shone on the edge of a sharpened blade.  Cloaked in expensive linens and masked in good intentions, General Yeolgoon had requested a meeting with his brother the King.  It was late.  Surely, the King would have retired already?  But at the news that it was none other than his only brother, King Taeyeol had agreed to it.

Despite the protests of the palace guards, despite the protests of the Inner Court servants, the King had arisen from his bed chambers and went out to greet his one and only blood brother.  The King was weary.  Due to the rumors of internal unrest in the Land of Tae, different Kingdoms and foreign lands had started to attack in small ways, eager to take over the expansive land of Tae.  The King trusted Yeolgoon to take care of these on the military front, but more than talk about armed tactics, Taeyeol just wanted to speak man to man, brother to brother, family to family. 

When King Taeyeol enters the council room where Yeolgoon waits, he embraces his brother tightly.  It has been a while since the King has seen his brother's face and he is more than joyed to see a face he's longed for.

"Brother" Taeyeol calls out, voice tinted with emotion.  "It's good to see you.  How is the front?"

"Your Highness" Yeolgoon bows.  The linens of his shorter tunic are dyed red, despite it being a faux pas to wear the color of royalty in the presence of the King.

"Please, Brother.  Do not address me so formally when we are alone.  We are brothers first, are we not?"

Something in Yeolgoon's face changes, but the King does not notice.  Instead, the King clasps Yeolgoon's hand, smiling tearfully.

"..."

"These days, I often find myself thinking of our childhood.  We were so very close then, as boys.  Were we not?"

"Were we?"  Yeolgoon slips his hand away and turns his back on the King, looking out the window.  "Perhaps your memory has been sweetened with time, Brother."

"Do you not remember?" asks the King earnestly.  "When our uncles and father were fighting their bloody battles, we only had each other in the world, Brother.  Can you tell me that you do not remember?"

The King moves to where Yeolgoon stands, eyes still filled with affection and pleading.

"Oh, I remember, Brother.  But I believe that my memory serves me better, Brother."  Slowly, Yeolgoon turns, facing the King.  "I remember being sent to the front lines as a young boy.  I remember being beaten every single day by our father, the King."  He spits the last words as if they are disgusting in his mouth.  "I also remember you saying nothing in my defense when Mother too turned me away."

"Brother..."

"No, Brother.  The problem is that I remember all too well.  How pathetic I was.  How weak I was.  How stupid I was to believe that despite it all I was tolerating everything for you!"

"Yeolgoon... what..."

"Don't feign ignorance, Brother.  When you were set to wed, did I not plead to you?  My last remaining pride.  You crushed it.  After all I had given up for you.  After all I had tolerated.  For what?!"

"You...you mean... you are still in love with the Queen?" the King's face is pale.  His hand shakes as he raises it, reaching for his brother's cheek.  But the King's hand is coldly slapped away as Yeolgoon turns his back on the King once more.

"You knew it all, didn't you?" sneers Yeolgoon.  "You knew and yet, you failed me one more time.  Well, that was the end of it, Brother.  That was the day my love for you died."

When Yeolgoon turns back around, King Taeyeol sees the steely cold in Yeolgoon's pupils.  What the King doesn't notice is how Yeolgoon's hand reaches inside his sleeve slowly.

"I...I...didn't..."

"And if you didn't know, Brother, that is a thousand times worse.  For ignorance in a King is a much more poisonous trait than malice or greed ever will be."

The King's mind spins.  To think that his brother had been subject to torment all those years.  To think that his military career had been forced upon him.  To think of the pain Yeolgoon had gone through.  It was too much.  He looks into Yeolgoon's eyes, hoping that, though words fail him now, that Taeyeol will be able to heal him in someway.  As if in slow motion, Yeolgoon draws close.  It's almost as if Yeolgoon moves in for an embrace.  And though a part of Taeyeol understands, another part of him still chooses to believe.

The King closes his eyes, wrapping his arms around his younger brother.  He feels the sharp excruciating pain in his gut.  The blade is quick and his blood runs warm.

"You don't deserve it, Brother" Yeolgoon says in a cold, detached voice.  "The land nor the Queen."

Scarlet flows fast onto his already crimson tunic.  The King's robes are always crimson, embroidered in gold silk thread, and today, they remain crimson.  As his consciousness wanes, Taeyeol's mind jumps from thought to thought - how Yeolgoon has always looked his best in red; how he hopes that with his death, Yeolgoon may heal a little from his past; how he hopes the Queen will be safe.  And lastly, the King's thoughts reach Chanyeol, his only son.

'I love you' the King thinks and then his mind is enveloped in black.

 

 

 

The funeral is a small affair.  The new King had at least allowed this.  Chanyeol grabs his own arms in a death grip, forcing himself not to shake, forcing himself not to cry.  Men are not supposed to cry during a funeral; that was the task of the women.  And yet, as Chanyeol sneaks a peek at his mother, the Queen is stock still.  Although pale, the Queen is stoic with expressionless eyes.  They walk slowly in the funeral procession as they reach the burial grounds.

Once the procession is over and the King has descended into the ground, servants still loyal to the former King rush Chanyeol away.

"We must get you to safety Prince Chanyeol.  General Yeolgoon is bound to do you harm."

The servants surround the Queen as well, but the Queen does not move from her spot by the grave.

"Please, Your Highness.  We must move quickly before the guards come."

The servants cry, beg, and plead with the Queen.  But her only words are: "Leave me be."

In the end, Chanyeol is taken from the burial grounds first.  All the way, Chanyeol's head is turned, watching as his mother sways in the wind.  She looks ever so small and ever so pale.  Still unwell, the Queen is too thin and too weak for this hardship.  Before his mother fades in the distance, Chanyeol sees her lift her head and meet eyes with Chanyeol.  They are the eyes of someone saying good bye.  And it's only then that Chanyeol lets out a choked sob.

 


	8. a time of mourning

A row of twenty royal guards stand on the shoreline, watching, as the convoy from Seol sails away.  Their faces remain grim for they are not only loyal to the King and Queen of Nyo, but they love them as the Father and Mother of their homeland.  They understand that the request from Seol doesn't only represent an insult in the form of taking Minseok away.  They understand that this is, essentially, a threat to Nyo's well-being.  Their heavy-set expressions show that they will stand strong in the face of war and that they will not let their King and Queen down.

 

Back at the palace, there hangs a dark cloud over the royal palace.  The Queen weeps in frustration as the King has his brows furrowed in great anger.

"We will overcome this, my Queen" the King promises.  "Minseok-goon will not have to ever set foot in the Land of Seol."

"This... this is an outrage!" cries the Queen.  "To use the passing of King Taeyeol to such an extent!"

The King sighs, thoughts going out to his deceased childhood friend.  What the convoy had said had turned out to be true.  Messengers from the Land of Tae had come to relay the message and to seek refuge.  Counselor Sol, who had first sent word of the coup, had been tortured and subsequently, been put to death.  Before being tortured, he had managed to send word again.

'I go to my death, not in fear, but in deep sorrow for the late King who will always remain my one and only King' Counselor Sol had written.  'The only thing I beg of you, King of Nyo, is to look after the Prince, who was the only beam of light in King Taeyeol's life.'

Already, King Sejun had sent a letter to the Land of Tae in the hands of a messenger.  In the document, the King had carefully worded a request to house the young Prince Chanyeol during the transition.  Sejun hoped that the letter would not kindle Yeolgoon's anger.  And before that, Sejun hoped that Prince Chanyeol was remaining healthy and alive in the meantime.  Sejun could only imagine what it would be like for the young Prince... to have lost a father at the hands of his own uncle.  King Sejun shakes his head; this typhoon of blood and tears is not able to be described in easy words.  It is a time of great tragedy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still unroused from his deep sleep, Minseok lies terribly still in his sleeping chambers.  Next to him, ever vigilant, is the young Prince Sehun.  The young boy's cheeks are gaunt and his eyes bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep.  The courts-men that serve him are anxious with worry.  Eleven years is an important age for a young boy.  It is a time to grow, a time to thrive, but the young Prince isn't doing any of that in the presence of the Seer's son.

After Shuhwa's funeral rites are finished, the visiting shamans and fortune tellers had left to their own lands, one by one.  After all, most had come from lands afar to bid a proper farewell to the famed Kim Seer.  One old crone remains, head bent over a gnarled walking cane.  She sits just outside Minseok's sleeping chamber, silently chanting and praying.  

On the fifth day of Minseok's deep slumber, the day after Shuhwa is buried into the ground, a gust of spring wind fills the entire West Building.  The Seer's chambers rattle with the unexpectedly strong gale and the old crone's eyes fly open, astoundingly wide.

"It is finished!" the crone cries.

Getting up in haste, she nearly falls over twice, but makes it up to stand.  Rapping smartly on the inner chamber's door with her cane, she calls Prince Sehun.

"Young Prince!  The young Kim Seer will awake soon.  You must tell him that his mother is at peace now.  And his mother believes in the the fate of her son."

With a satisfied nod, the old crone leaves the West Building.  Startled, a couple of royal guards escort her all the way to the main gate.

"Will you leave the palace without greeting the King or Queen?" they ask, shocked, for it was against the proper etiquette.

But the old crone's bones ache from the exhaustion of sending Shuhwa's spirit off and she can feel her time in this world coming to a close.

"If the King or the Queen is angered by this old crone's insolence, I will be sure to return after I am dead."

The guards are too spooked to insist otherwise and the old crone makes it out of the palace and into the edge of the main city without any problems.  Once at the outskirts of the Land of Nyo, she looks back and sighs.  Though the wind was always thought of as weak and unreliable, it seemed that this generation's 'wind' was warm and loyal.  Flashes of the young Prince's future flood her vision before she turns back.  She knows she will not be alive to see the Three Kingdoms thrive once again, but she is satisfied knowing that it will happen in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol shivers.  It's been exactly seven days since he's escaped from the palace walls.  Servants and guards still loyal to Taeyeol and his family had smuggled Chanyeol and the Queen out of the palace one night.  They were now on the edges of town, where barely anyone lived.  An old, dilapidated hut had been all that the servants could find.  It was not a place Chanyeol was used to and, at night, the cold wind seeped through the holes of the thatch and thin walls.

However, the poor living conditions was not why Chanyeol was shivering.  Just a week ago, he had buried his father.  And just yesterday, his mother had passed away.

Coughing up more blood than Chanyeol has ever seen before, the Queen had been delirious and feverish.  Grabbing hold of Chanyeol to her chest, the Queen had been inconsolable.

"I'm sorry, my son.  My precious son.  I'm so sorry" she had sobbed, hair astray and face pale.  "It's my fault.  This is all my fault.  My poor son.  Soon, you will be alone in this cruel, cold world."

Chanyeol had wanted to console her.  He really did.  But something about his mother's demeanor that night had scared him.  So frightened was Chanyeol, that he was not able to move nor return his mother's embrace.  His mother had then, removed Chanyeol from her bosom.  She had looked into Chanyeol's eyes with a feverish kind of intensity that he had never witnessed before.

"But my son, though you may be sad, you should never be worried or feel defeated.  For you are great and mighty.  You are of the Land of Tae.  You are of sacred bone.  No one shall stop you when you reach your full potential.  You shall burn bright and find your rightful place again.  It has been foretold and so it shall be."

At that, the Queen had shuddered deeply, her head thrown back.  Then, her eyes had slid shut with her hands still grasped at Chanyeol's arms.  And finally, as if running out of her feverish energy, the Queen had fainted, slumping to the floor to Chanyeol's alarm.  But no matter how precious the medicine, no matter how skillful the physician, the Queen had never woken up again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've reached this far... I just wanted to say, thank you for reading!  
> I am cross-posting to AFF&AO3 and I'm just so happy people are actually reading this little fantasy of mine ^^ I know it's not well written, but it's still exciting to see/meet other fans who are on this journey with me *^^*  
> Kudos/comments/subscriptions are very much appreciated (even if I may not respond quickly)!  
> I'm also on Twitter (@telefrosted)! Come say hi if you'd like ^^


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